The Francesca Pitera Gown in White Acrylic Paint and Charcoal

 

The Francesca Pitera Gown

So, we had a great time at the opening of my solo show at A Woodside Design Gallery. We had steady visitors right through the beginning to the end, which was great. Check out my Youtube channel for a video for those who missed out. If you were unable to make it and are still interested to see my new work, the pieces will be hanging for the month of September. 

This 24″x48″ acrylic and charcoal painting is on showcase at my solo show. It is entitled “The Francesca Pitera Gown”. Lately, I have been really interested in watching fashion television, especially the formal wear by designers like Valentino and Vera Wang. These fashion designers are experts in dressing the female figure accentuating the curves and feminine lines. I am also drawn to their use of romantic fabrics that move and flow down the runway.

Haute couture is definitely out of my price range and seems unnecessary when my home is basically what I see on a daily basis. But, I am intrigued at how similar fashion is to creating an original painting. I have learned that “haute couture” means clothing, normally gowns, that are one of a kind fashion created specifically for the client versus “off the rack” which mass produced and everyone can purchase. This is not unlike creating a commissioned piece of art versus prints.

Inspiration for my art comes from that which is feminine and pretty. In everyday life between cutting-up raw chicken to dirty laundry to disciplining screaming kids to worrying about bills, femininity and prettiness can be lost. It is important for me to hold on and surround myself with these major aspects of being a woman.

Prettiness requires effort. In this modern age of business, it is easier to entertain with a bbq and paper plates instead of tea parties and fine china. Today, the uniform in our casual society is jeans and sneakers. It is rare when the occasion calls for a beautiful gown that accentuates femininity. The effort, sometimes, is just too much.

Let us not forget feminine beauty. If prettiness cannot be achieved in everyday life, I choose it as inspiration for art and hang it on the walls of my environment to remind me of the woman I am.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my costume or formal wear inspired paintings visit www.rawdesigns.org .

 

SCHLEPPING MORE ART

Artwalk 2009, the largest art event in the interior of BC, is this weekend. In fact, it has become my main focus since my opening this week at the gallery. There are so many details that still have to be worked out and will keep me busy as the kids go back to school this week.

Although I am excited for this art weekend, there is a huge part I am dreading. That dreaded part is the actual set-up. The design and arranging of the booth can be quite creative and fun. But I am not looking forward to getting all the stuff to where it needs to go. The behind-the-scenes aspect of an art event can be quite exhaustive and requires a lot of manual labour. People sometimes don’t understand that art does not miraculously appear on the walls. It requires a lot of schlepping large pieces of artwork in and out of vehicles. It requires packing oddly shaped items into small spaces such as trunks, which, at time can be like working a rather frustrating puzzle.

Then, there is the part where if your space is too large, new walls or hanging structures are required or the artwork gets lost in the space. This dilemma can often be solved with easels. However, if many easels are needed, the space becomes rather cluttered. Another solution is the usage of metal wire grids, which carried in large numbers become extremely cumbersome and heavy. It takes a different kind of creativity to turn these grids into a visually appealing display.

Visual art is a very unbalanced business where it takes a huge amount of time for the creation process and set-up, whereas it only takes a few minutes for the viewer to appreciate the display and move on. It is not like the behind the scenes work of a production where there is a captivated audience for a couple of hours appreciating the hard work and creative energy.

And, at the end of a busy day of watching people walk by the display, it is time for the dismantling and repacking as the artwork is schlepped back to the studio. It makes me tired just thinking about it!